The NFL season has begun. That doesn’t mean you can forget about your fantasy baseball teams. We have fantasy baseball championships to win first. While it may seem that your deficit is insurmountable, please don’t give up because there will be people who quit checking their teams. It can lead to more change in the standings than you think over the final month. Another way to make up ground is to read this week’s ’10 Burning Questions’ for useful fantasy baseball information as you make your final push.

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Fantasy Baseball 10 Burning Questions

What’s the ‘creative’ closer situation with the New York Yankees?

Clay Holmes leads all pitchers in blown saves with 11. His issues have led Yankees manager Aaron Boone to get ‘creative’ with the closer role. That was his word, but what does that mean?

The Yankees need to get creative because they don’t have a better option than Holmes. The back-end of their bullpen includes Jake Cousins, Tommy Kahnle and Luke Weaver. Holmes leads the group in FIP and xFIP. While removing Holmes from the closer role is understandable, many of his struggles are tied to some poor luck with stranding runners. Regardless, the last save went to Weaver, so he has to be considered the favorite going forward for more saves. This is a messy situation best to avoid for fantasy baseball.

Who is in the Yankees’ starting rotation?

Aaron Boone is creatively managing the starting rotation, too. That manifested itself on Saturday when Clarke Schmidt started the game but could not complete the fifth inning. Nestor Cortes was called upon to relieve him.

Cortes didn’t allow a hit while pitching the last 4.1 innings. It was the first time Cortes was called upon in relief since 2021, which upset him, but it didn’t impact his performance. The reason the Yankees could use him in relief is they suddenly find themselves with six viable starting options in Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Luis Gil, Schmidt and Cortes. Cortes will be hard to rely upon for consistent starts.

Do we need to keep holding Corey Seager?

It was an eventful week for Corey Seager. First, there was talk of him being rested the last month of the season. Then, he was placed on the injured list (IL) with a hip injury. Now, as fantasy managers we are left trying to decide what to do with Seager the rest of the season.

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy indicated he hopes Seager will play again this season. However, the defending World Series Champion Rangers are 6.5 games out of the playoff hunt. This could be an opportunity to get their slugging shortstop an early start to his offseason. If you have an extra injured list spot, stash Seager. If you are out of injured spots, dropping him is also acceptable.

Where did all these strikeouts come from Reynaldo Lopez?

Reynaldo Lopez missed roughly a month with a biceps injury. When he went on IL, he had a 2.06 ERA but was averaging just under a strikeout per inning. Since returning from the injury, his ERA is even lower at 1.96. More impressively, he is averaging over 13 strikeouts per nine innings now.

Since returning from his injury, Lopez has essentially become a two-pitch pitcher. The last two starts were the most he has thrown his fastball all season (65%). Considering he has given up a total of two barrels in his four starts, the new approach seems to be working. For the last month, treat Lopez as a must-start pitcher with his ability to help in ratios and garner strikeouts.

What has changed with Ty France in Cincinnati?

One trade that didn’t draw a lot of fanfare at the trade deadline was Ty France being moved from Seattle to Cincinnati. It was an oversight as we’ve seen France be fantasy-viable just a few seasons ago in one of the toughest offensive environments, and now he finds himself in one of the easiest.

It’s not just the move to Great American Ball Park. There are tangible changes in France’s profile. With the Reds, he has dropped his strikeout rate from 24.4% to only 15.5%. It’s not that he has just taken to slapping the ball at the expense of his power production. Instead, he has a career-high hard-hit rate of 44.8%. His performance has helped him become the primary first baseman for Cincinnati. In his last game, he even batted clean-up. If you are looking for a corner infield option, France is playing well enough to help you in the final month.

Do we start Teoscar Hernandez in weekly leagues?

With Max Muncy and Tommy Edman back from their injuries, the Dodgers’ lineup was back to full strength. It didn’t last long, though, as the injury bug struck again when Teoscar Hernandez was hit by a pitch on his foot. He hasn’t played since, but there is optimism he could be back as soon as today.

The initial belief was Hernandez would be headed to IL. Luckily for fantasy managers, tests showed the errant pitch didn’t fracture any bones. He has done some on-field drills and thinks he can play soon. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did try to tap the brakes a bit on his return as he wants to be cautious with one of his big sluggers. Even if Hernandez is out of Monday’s lineup, there is enough upside with him he should still be in most lineups.

Can Trevor Story help fantasy teams?

You may have forgotten about Trevor Story. It’s understandable considering he spent over five months on IL with a shoulder injury. He is back now and already contributing.

Since he returned, Story is 2-for-7 with an RBI. If you have a middle infield deficiency, he can help in certain categories. Injuries have been an issue with him since he arrived in Boston before the 2022 season. However, when healthy, he still has been a power and speed asset. He has played in 147 games in his Boston career, which is essentially a full season. He has contributed 19 total home runs and 24 stolen bases. The power and speed have come with a .228 batting average, so don’t expect help there.

Where do the Atlanta Braves turn to at second base?

Injuries have been an issue all season with the Atlanta Braves. The original plan at second base was All-Star Ozzie Albies, but a fractured wrist ended his season prematurely. Whit Merrifield was brought in as a replacement option, but that ended early with a broken foot.

If you want to look for a silver lining, it’s that Merrifield was already operating as a platoon player with Luke Williams. The issue is Williams is only batting .211. With the injuries to Albies, Austin Riley and Ronald Acuna Jr. this hasn’t been the lineup we’ve come to expect. There’s a chance the team will go back to Nacho Alvarez. He struggled in his first attempt at the Major Leagues but has more offensive upside than Williams.

What happened to Bryce Harper‘s power production?

Bryce Harper has 26 home runs, 79 RBI and is batting .285 for the season. That sounds like a perfectly normal season from the perennial MVP candidate. When you break his season down into halves, the second half has not been the output we’ve come to expect.

Since the All-Star break, Harper has just five home runs and 18 RBI. It still comes with a .258 batting average, so he is still getting hits, but just not driving the ball over the wall. When looking at that stretch versus his season-long production, nothing stands out other than a substantially depressed home run to fly ball rate. He is still hitting flyballs 38% of the time, but under 10% are turning into home runs. For the season, that number was nearly 18%. Don’t lose faith because more home runs should be coming soon.

Can we expect to get Ha-Seong Kim back soon?

Ha-Seong Kim’s absence is nearing a month due to his shoulder inflammation. When he first went on IL it was thought that a minimal stay would be required. That hasn’t been the case, and the latest updates are not optimistic.

Kim has begun to do on-field drills in his quest to get back to help the Padres. Indications are batting practice was going fine for him, but it was the throwing across the diamond that still bothered his shoulder. That’s a necessary skill for a shortstop. Because of that, it’s unlikely we see Kim in the next week. Losing a triple-eligible player who provides power and speed in a good lineup at the end of the season is a tough blow for fantasy managers. The silver lining is you’ve already had to find a replacement. Unfortunately, that replacement may be in your lineup longer than originally planned.

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